Art Basel Hong Kong and Art Central return in full force, with large-scale installations providing a healthy dose of maximalism at both fairs. Gennady Oreshkin reports.

Art Basel Hong Kong (ABHK) and Art Central - the city's two biggest international art fairs - returned this week in a big way. The two events now on at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) promise to enthrall us in many ways, not the least in terms of scale. And what better way to celebrate the end of a tumultuous period of semi-lockdowns and travel restrictions than with a healthy dose of maximalism? For larger-than-life installations, look no further than ABHK's Encounters program, curated by Alexie Glass-Kantor, and Art Central's Yi Tai Sculpture & Installation Projects, put together by Chris Wan Feng.

"It's terrific to be back in Hong Kong," Glass-Kantor, a Sydney native, says as we take a seat beneath the 10-meter-high, inflatable King Tut sculpture Gravity, by Ethiopian American multidisciplinary artist Awol Erizku. Placed inside Pacific Place mall, the piece is Encounters' first off-site installation.